Mujica is a true progressive, somebody that I can respect. In less than 5 years he got passed gay marriage and legalized marihuana. He has run his country with minimum conflict and he is stepping down when his term is done. He walks the talk about being austere, he is mellow, does not use state resources to bash his political adversaries.

I wish that Chávez would have been like Mujica, but he was a mad power Authoritarian with pretty words about poverty while dressing Armani and throwing his political enemies in jail.

Here´s a short Vice documentary featuring Mujica. I certainly think they could have chosen a more interesting premise to talk to him than getting baked, but it still shows what a pleasant human being he is. I wish I had a grandfather like him.

Edit: I just watched it again, and damn, this guy is so sensible and human, it´s almost unbelievable he´s a high ranking politician.

Edit II: There´s now a longer cut available that includes non-weed-related talk:

Now, of course, the prez is going to have to deal with Monsanto, who are looking to patent a seed variety of cannibis. This news has been making the rounds in South American media outlets for a few months, now, though getting a credible English-language source isn't easy. In the greater context of Monsanto's dealings down here, you have Argentina, who is opening her arms to the company, although amid serious protests from concerned citizens' groups and scientists (a near-total lack of regulation enforcement means that soybean farmers are using about 10x the amount of Round Up allowed in the US, and not honoring the perimeters between treated fields and housing, schools, etc. nor the disposal of containers or runoff, and the casualities are stacking up). But then you also have Peru, who forbade Monsanto and GMOs for the next 10 years. So, Uruguay is a key country in all this, and having its progressive marijuana law being manipulated this way makes a lot of us nervous.